My New Bike Trainer!

Ok, so Gladys convinced me to buy a bike trainer. It's pretty cold outside...in the 50's today and that means that my outdoor riding season has officially ended. I've been thinking about buying a trainer for several years but didn't want a piece of equipment that would end up as a place to throw my clothes on it. I wanted to make sure that I would actually use it. I'm thinking that making this purchase public will keep me honest and accountable.

I bought the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine from Amazon based on Gladys and Grace's recommendation. It was very easy to put together. I got it Monday and have used it twice since then. (It's Wed!) It's very solid and I feel secure riding on it. It's not too loud and feels very smooth. The nice thing about this trainer is that there is a lifetime warranty!

Here are some pics:

Notice my essential tv remote control within arms reach.

G and G advised me not to buy the $30 riser to put under my front tire. Instead, I used my old stats book from college. Glad I can use it for something!

Bee Caves Ride-Austin, TX (10/16/10) 35 Miles

State Capitol, Austin

Scott and Sheri suggested we ride while we were in Austin for the ACCP Annual Meeting so we rented bikes at Lance Armstrong's shop, Mellow Johnnies. (http://www.mellowjohnnys.com/) It's a beautiful shop:


We rented Treks, but by the time I went online to make my reservation, they ran out of their standard Trek Road Bikes...so I got lucky and got to ride a Trek Madone! It was a beautiful ride...I don't know the official weight but I can tell you that the thing is super light! You can lift the bike with one finger.

The shop recommended we ride out to Bee Caves, TX. The total route was approximately 35 miles round trip from Mellow Johnny's to Bee Caves:

Start: Mellow Johnny's (4th St and Nueces St)

Take 4th St and make L on Guadelupe

R onto 1st Street

L over pedestrian bridge (S.Lamar Blvd)

R onto Barton Springs Rd

R onto Rollingwood Dr

L onto Old Walsh Tartan

L onto Wilderness Rd

R onto Rt.360 (S.Capitol of TX Highway)

Take Exit 2244, make slight R then quick L to Rt 2244 (Bee Caves Rd)

The route takes you out of downtown Austin, through some pretty neighborhoods on Rollingwood Dr, but then turns into mostly highway. It was surprising how much traffic there was and how much of it was highway riding! We passed many gated communities and ended up at a shopping mall. Here are some pics:

Here we are at lunch:

We saw this boat as we rode back to downtown:

All in all, we had a great day! The weather was beautiful..bright and sunny in the 80's!